By LANCE HORNBY -- Toronto Sun PHOENIX -- Nikolai Khabibulin is fascinated
by statistics, so it stands to reason he and new multi-millionaire Oleg
Tverdovsky have a few things to discuss.
Presumably, the two babbled on about all the rubles Tverdovsky
will be paid after finally reaching a two-year deal with the Coyotes on
Friday, ending a bitter contract dispute. The 21-year-old defenceman will
get $1.4 million US pro-rated over the balance of this season (about $850,000)
and $1.7 million for next year plus bonuses that could be worth about $700,000.
Khabibulin also is happy to have someone Russian speaking in
the dressing room again. Tverdovsky's four-month absence left the goalie
relying on his broken English in day-to-day conversations.
"Imagine if you went to Russia and no one spoke English," he
explained to a reporter.
The rest of the Coyotes don't care if Tverdovsky starts chanting
like a Gregorian monk, they're just glad he'll be carrying the puck out
of their zone again and quarterbacking their power plays.
"It's a step in the right direction," captain Keith Tkachuk said,
now that the storm over his public plea to management to get Tverdovsky
signed has ebbed. "Now it's up to guys like myself and Jeremy (Roenick),
who haven't scored in a long time, to provide offence."
Roenick predicted Tverdovsky would make "a real splash, real
quick." Mere news of his return on Friday night may have helped the Coyotes
produce four power-play goals en route to ending an 0-4-4 slump with a
6-2 win over the Ducks.
Phoenix GM Bobby Smith said he considered his team's feelings
as well as team payroll ramifications in achieving what he felt was a fair
deal.
"I did not want to say at the end of the season, 'I had a position,
I held to it and I'm sorry you guys didn't make the playoffs'," Smith said.